'Neighbour keeps peering in windows and pruning my roses - it's inappropriate'

12 July 2023 , 10:20

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The woman has been pruning the roses without asking permission (stock image) (Image: Getty Images)

It's always handy to get along with a neighbour. Whether you want them to keep an eye on your property when you're away or simply enjoy a natter on the front doorstep, it never hurts to have an ally living close by. But if they don't respect your boundaries, it can become quite awkward.

One woman has been left feeling "suffocated" by her neighbour who has been driving her mad with her behaviour. The elderly resident, who is in her 70s and lives in the other half of her semi-detached house, is "lovely," but is getting "too overbearing" according to the mum.

The anonymous woman took to parenting forum Mumsnet to ask for advice on the situation, and also detailed certain things the neighbour had done recently - including pruning her "beautiful roses" without permission.

Listing all the things the neighbour does that annoys her, she said:

1. "She decided to prune all of my roses in front garden. Woke up to all of my beautiful roses gone and her saying they needed cutting back"
2. "Every time I sit in my back garden she appears at her bedroom window for an hour long chat"
3. "She calls me to ask me something then talks at me for an hour or more"
4. "She let herself into my back garden (she has a key for the side gate for emergencies) because she 'couldn't see' what plants I'd decided to grow in one of my borders from her window!"
5. "She called me when she didn't see my car one Saturday and wanted to know where I was"

The mum received a lot of support in the comment section, with some people saying they would be "livid" if their neighbour was acting in this way.

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One person said: "You need to stop accepting her intrusive behaviour, you need to be firm with her when she acts inappropriately."

Another suggested: "Tell her not to do any gardening work in your garden. Wear big headphones in your garden say that you can't talk now. Change the lock on the gate."

A third said: "I so envy those people who say 'we are on nodding terms with our neighbours'. Perfect situation for most of us."

Ariane Sohrabi-Shiraz